Check Valve for a Vacuum Pump

ABSTRACT

A check valve  50  for a vacuum pump  1  is disclosed in which opening of the check valve  50  is controlled by centrifugal force by arranging a valve member  40  to slide along a slide axis Y-Y inclined with respect to an axis of rotation of a housing  27  in which the valve member  40  is slideably supported. The housing  27  rotates with a rotor  10  of the vacuum pump  1  and, in a one embodiment, the slide axis Y-Y is arranged at a right angle with respect to the axis of rotation X-X so as to maximize the effect of centrifugal force on the valve member  40  as the housing  27  is rotated.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to vacuum pumps having forced oil lubrication principally for automotive vehicle applications and in particular to a check valve for such a vacuum pump.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Vehicles often have components that are vacuum operated, an important example being servo-assisted brakes. In a vehicle having a conventional spark-ignition engine, a partial vacuum is present in the part of the intake manifold downstream of the main throttle and no special steps need to be taken to provide a vacuum source. There are, however, several cases when manifold vacuum cannot be relied upon as a vacuum source. For example, in diesel engines there is little or no manifold vacuum, because load is varied not by throttling the air intake but by metering the quantity of fuel directly or indirectly injected into the cylinders. For emission control purposes, it is desirable to provide exhaust gas recirculation into the intake gases of a diesel engine. Thus, modern diesels are equipped with a throttle to cause a vacuum in the intake to allow a portion of exhaust gases to flow into the intake. Even so, the pressure depression needed to obtain the desired exhaust gas flow is less than what is encountered in a spark-ignition engine in which the throttle is used for load control. Thus, it is often insufficient to operate accessories. Likewise, electrically driven vehicles and vehicles with hybrid drive systems may not always have a vacuum source available at all times.

For these reasons, vacuum pumps for use in automotive vehicles have been proposed previously and these fall into two categories, namely engine driven pumps and electrically driven pumps.

It is known to provide an oil check valve to prevent the backflow of oil from the vacuum pump to the oil supply from the engine. Such a check valve is shown in FIG. 6 of the accompanying drawing.

The check valve has a housing 2 supported by a shaft 3 connected to a rotor of a sliding vane vacuum pump. A positive oil supply passage 4 communicates with a valve chamber 6 defined by the housing 2 when a valve member in the form of a check valve ball 7 is moved away from its seat. A spring 8 located in a spring housing 9 is used to bias the check valve ball 7 against a seat as shown in FIG. 6. An oil inlet passage 5 is also in fluid communication with the valve chamber 6.

The oil inlet passage 5 supplies oil to interior components of the vacuum pump and so, when the pump is operating, is maintained at a pump operating vacuum, e.g., approximately 20 kPa gauge pressure. The 20 kPa gauge vacuum is given by way of example and not intended to be limiting.

Therefore during normal running of the vacuum pump the check valve ball is subject to the positive pressure P1 of the oil feed in the oil supply passage 4 to one side and the pump operating vacuum in the inlet supply passage 5 to the other side. This differential pressure is sufficient to move the valve check ball 7 away from its seat to permit oil to flow to the interior of the vacuum pump. The arrangement of the check valve is such that such when such pressure differential is sufficient to lift the valve check ball 7 from its seat, as the vacuum pump starts to operate, oil can be drawn in through the inlet passage 5 even when the pressure in the oil supply passage is at or close to atmospheric pressure.

It is a problem with this arrangement that even after the pump is stopped, the pressure in the oil inlet passage 5 can remain at pump operating vacuum for a long time. Therefore, even when the oil feed pressure P1 in the oil supply passage 4 drops to zero, the check valve ball 7 could still be in a partially open position for some time due to the pump operating vacuum in the inlet passage 5. Consequently, oil can be drawn into the vacuum pump for a long period of time causing hydraulic lock within the vacuum pump. The next time the vacuum pump is started, damage to the vacuum pump will often occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a check valve for a vacuum pump having a rotary pumping element connected to an oil supply wherein the check valve is rotatable with the rotary pumping element and has a valve member moved against the action of a spring by centrifugal force when the rotary pumping element rotates so as to selectively open an oil inlet passage to the vacuum pump.

The valve member may have an end face and is moved against the action of the spring by a combination of centrifugal force and the oil supply pressure acting upon the end face of the valve member.

The rotary pumping element may be rotatable about an axis of rotation and the check valve may further comprise a valve housing rotatable about the axis of rotation, the valve member is slidingly supported in a valve chamber formed by the valve housing so as to be slideable along a slide axis, the spring biases the valve member into a closed position where it closes off the oil inlet passage to the vacuum pump and the slide axis of the check valve is inclined relative to the axis of rotation of the rotary pumping element.

Preferably, the slide axis may be arranged at a right angle with respect to the axis of rotation so as to maximise the centrifugal force on the valve member.

The spring may react between an end cap fastened to the valve housing and the valve member.

The valve member may have an end face and a tubular body portion extending away from the end face and the spring may be located within the tubular body portion of the valve member.

The end cap may have a vent passage formed therein so that the interior of the tubular body portion of the valve member is maintained at atmospheric pressure.

The oil supply may be connected to the valve chamber by an oil supply passage and, when the valve member is in the closed position, the valve chamber may remain in fluid communication with the oil supply passage.

A second end cap may be fastened to the valve housing to provide an end stop for the valve member thereby determining the closed position of the valve member.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a vacuum pump for a motor vehicle driven by an oil lubricated internal combustion engine, the vacuum pump comprising a rotary pumping element, a drive means for driving the rotary pumping element, an oil supply from the engine for interior lubrication of the vacuum pump and a check valve constructed in accordance with said first aspect of the invention.

The rotary pumping element may comprise a rotor and at least one sliding vane.

The drive means may comprises one of a chain drive from the engine of the motor vehicle, a belt drive from the engine of the motor vehicle, a hydraulic motor, a pneumatic motor and an electric motor.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a check valve for a vacuum pump having a rotary pumping element connected to an oil supply wherein the check valve has a valve member moved by a spring to a closed position and moved against the action of the spring by the oil supply pressure acting upon an end face of the valve member, wherein the valve member is arranged to be unaffected by the pressure in an oil inlet passage connected to the vacuum pump when the valve member is in a closed position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing of which:—

FIG. 1 is a transverse section through a sliding vane vacuum pump according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section through the pump shown in FIG. 1 showing in dotted outline the location of a check valve according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section through the check valve shown in FIG. 2 showing a valve member in an open position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-section similar to FIG. 3, showing the valve member in a closed position;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-section similar to FIG. 2 showing an alternative type of vacuum pump and the location of a check valve according to the invention when used with such a pump; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-section through a prior art check valve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a single vane vacuum pump 1 having a rotary pumping element comprising a rotor 10 mounted eccentrically within a housing 12 having an inner surface defining a pump chamber 16 and a single flat vane 14 slideably mounted with a close running clearance within the rotor 10. The shape of the pump chamber 16 is such that the opposite ends of the vane 14 make sealing contact with the surface of the pump chamber 16 in all angular positions of the rotor 10. It will be appreciated that the vacuum pump could have several vanes supported by the rotor. The outer surface of the rotor 10 makes sealing contact with the surface of the pump chamber 16 at the six o'clock position as shown in FIG. 1.

The vacuum pump 1 also has an air inlet passage 18 containing an anti-oil migration valve which, for a pump in which the rotor 10 is driven counter clockwise (as represented by the arrow in FIG. 1), communicates with the variable volume working chamber defined to the right of the rotor 10.

The vacuum pump 1 also has an exhaust port 20 a that communicates with the working chamber to the left of the rotor as viewed and with an outlet or exhaust conduit 20 (shown in FIG. 2). A non-return valve 22 (shown in FIG. 2) is arranged in the exhaust passage 20 such that air and oil can flow out of the pump chamber 16 but cannot flow in the opposite direction.

In operation, as the rotor 10 turns counter clockwise, the volume of the working chamber to the right of the rotor 10 is bounded by the rotor 10, the surface of the pump chamber 16 and the vane 14 increases and draws air in from the suction port. In the other working chamber, the same air is compressed and forced out of the exhaust port 20 a past the non-return valve 22 into the exhaust conduit 20.

In the application of such a vacuum pump to an automotive vehicle having an oil lubricated engine, the air may be drawn from a brake servo of the motor vehicle and the air and oil flowing through the exhaust conduit may be returned to a sump of an engine fitted to the motor vehicle and oil is supplied to the vacuum pump 1 from a lubrication circuit of the engine.

Although a rotary vane pumping element is shown and described it will be appreciated that the invention can be applied to alternative designs of pump.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pump 1 is driven by a drive member in the form of a pulley 24 which is driven by a belt or chain from the engine of the motor vehicle. The pulley 24 is driveably connected to the rotor 10 by a drive shaft 26 supported by bearings (not shown) located in the housing 12.

The vacuum pump 1 is connected to the lubrication circuit of the engine by a low pressure oil supply pipe 28. The oil from the engine passes through a check valve 50 and ultimately flows to the vacuum side of the rotor 10 where the oil is atomised into a fine mist carried by the pumped air to lubricate the moving parts of the pump 1.

The check valve 50 is located in a support shaft 27 which forms a check valve housing and rotates with the rotor 10 about a common axis of rotation X-X. The support shaft 27 is rotatably supported by the pump housing 12 by one or more bearings (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 3, the shaft 27 forming the check valve housing defines an oil supply passage 34 connected via a rotatable connector 31 to the low pressure oil supply pipe 28, an oil inlet passage 35 connected to the interior of the vacuum pump 1 and a valve chamber 36 in which is slidingly supported a valve member 40.

The rotatable connector 31 is rotatably connected to the oil supply passage 34 by a snap connector 33 and is sealed by a seal 32.

The valve member 40 has an end face 42 from which extends a cylindrical projection 43 and a tubular body portion 41. A spring 46 is located within the tubular body portion 41 and reacts between the valve member 40 and a first end cap 38 threadingly fastened to the shaft 27 to close off one end of the valve chamber 36. The end cap 38 has a through vent passage 39 formed therein to ensure that the interior of the tubular body portion 41 always remains at atmospheric pressure.

A second end cap 37 is threadingly fastened to the shaft 27 to close off the opposite end of the valve chamber 36 to the end closed by the first end cap 38. The second end cap 37 has a projection 44 formed therein on for co-operation with the cylindrical projection 43 on the valve member 40 so as to define an end stop defining the closed position of the valve member 40.

The valve member 40 is slideable along a slide axis Y-Y which is in this case arranged to be at a right angle with respect to the axis of rotation X-X so as to maximize the centrifugal force applied to the valve member 40 when the shaft 27 rotates with the rotor 10. It will be appreciated that the slide axis Y-Y could be arranged at a different angle to the axis of rotation such as for example 45 degrees but it is preferred to arrange the slide axis at 90 degrees as this maximizes the centrifugal force produced when the shaft 27 rotates.

Operation of the check valve is as follows. When, as is shown in FIG. 4, the rotor 10 is not rotating, the valve member 40 is moved by the spring 46 to a closed position in which the cylindrical projection 43 abuts against the projection 44. In this position, the tubular body portion 41 of the check valve 40 closes off the entrance to the oil inlet passage 35 and so oil cannot flow to the interior of the vacuum pump 1. Note that, when the valve member 40 closes off the inlet passage 35, the position of the valve member 40 is unaffected by the pressure within the vacuum pump 1 because the pressure P2 in the inlet passage acts on the side of tubular body portion 41 at a right angle to the slide axis Y-Y of the valve member 40. When the rotor 10 is not rotating, the pressure Pt in the oil supply passage 34 is approximately atmospheric because, in this embodiment, the engine drives the pump.

The force produced by the spring 46 can therefore hold the valve member 40 firmly in its closed position against the end stop in the form of the projection 44 on the second end cap 37.

However, when the engine is started and the rotor 10 begins to rotate a different force balance exists because the valve member 40 is then subject to both oil pressure acting on its end face 42 and to centrifugal force due to its rotation about the axis of rotation X-X.

A force balance then exists in which if the combined force produced by the pressure on the end face and the centrifugal force exceed the force produced by the spring then the valve member 40 moves away from the end stop 44.

The centrifugal force F on the valve member is equal to (sin θ)mrω2. Where θ is the angle between the slide axis Y-Y and the axis of rotation X-X (sin θ is equal to 1.0 when the angle between axis X-X and Y-Y is 90 degrees), m is the mass of the valve member, r is the distance of the center of gravity, C, of the valve member 40 from the axis of rotation X-X and ω is the rotational speed of the shaft 27. It will be appreciated that as the valve member 40 moves away from the end stop 44 the centrifugal force F will increase because r will increase. This will compensate for the increase in the force applied by the spring 46 due to its further compression as the valve member 40 moves away from the end stop 44. It will be further appreciated that the center of gravity, C, must be on the same side of the axis of rotation as the spring in for the centrifugal force to act against the spring 46.

The force, Fp, applied from oil pressure in the valve chamber on the end face 42 of the valve member 40 is equal to the actual pressure in the valve chamber 36 multiplied by the surface area of the end face 42.

In the example shown, when the valve member is in its fully closed position, Fp1 is equal to the total area of the end face 42 minus the area lost due to the contact of the projection 43 with the end stop 44 multiplied by the pressure, P1, in the supply passage.

However, when the valve member 40 moves away from the end stop 44, the force, Fp2, produced by oil pressure will be equal to the total area of the end face 42 multiplied by the pressure P1 in the supply passage and, when the inlet passage 35 is uncovered, the force, Fp3, will be equal to the total area of the end face 42 multiplied by the pressure in the valve chamber 36 which will be a pressure lower than the pressure, P1, in the supply passage 34 but higher than the pressure, P2, in the inlet passage 35.

When shaft 27 begins to rotate the centrifugal force, F, produced, in combination with the force, Fp1, exceeds the force produced by spring 46. The valve member 40 moves away from the end stop 44.

As soon as the valve member moves away from the end stop 44, the force produced by the oil in the supply passage will increase to Fp2 thereby rapidly moving the valve member 40 away from its closed position.

In this way, it can be ensured that no oil can flow to the vacuum pump until it is rotating thereby preventing hydraulic lock from occurring within the vacuum pump 1.

In an alternative to the above the supply passage 34 can be arranged to be closed when the valve member 40 moves to its closed position. This can be achieved by making the supply passage 34 the same size as the inlet passage 35 or by realigning the supply passage 34. In this case, the moving of the valve member 40 away from its closed position is achieved solely by the application of centrifugal force until the supply passage 34 is uncovered.

Referring now to FIG. 5 there is shown an alternative vacuum pump to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The vacuum pump differs in that it is of a cantilever support type having support bearings (not shown) on only one side of the rotor 10. In this case the check valve 50 is located in the drive shaft 26. The drive shaft 26 therefore forms a housing for the check valve 50. The check valve 50 is identical to that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and operates in exactly the same manner. As before, a low pressure oil supply pipe 28 from an engine is connected to the check valve 50 and the check valve member 50 prevents the backflow of oil from the vacuum pump, an air inlet 18 containing an anti-oil migration valve is provided and an outlet conduit 20 having a non-return valve 22 is arranged such that air and oil can flow out of the vacuum pump but cannot flow in the opposite direction.

A further difference between this embodiment and that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is that the vacuum pump is independently driven by an electric motor 124. It will however be appreciated that the electric motor 124 could be replaced by a hydraulic motor or a pneumatic motor. One advantage of using an electric motor is that it is able to provide a high vacuum even when the engine of the motor vehicle is operating slowly.

In an alternative design which is the same as the design shown in FIG. 2 with the exception that the valve housing does not rotate with the rotor 10 but remains stationary. The check valve has a valve member slideably supported in a valve chamber and moved by a spring to a closed position. The valve member is moved against the action of the spring by the oil supply pressure acting upon an end face of the valve member to open the oil inlet passage to the vacuum pump. When the valve member is in a closed position, the valve member is arranged to be unaffected by the pressure in an oil inlet passage connected to the vacuum pump by arranging for a side of the valve member to close off the oil inlet passage. In this way, the pressure in the oil inlet passage cannot act on the end face of the valve member to affect its position until the valve member has uncovered the oil inlet passage. The valve member is moved to an open position solely by the action of the pressure in the valve chamber acting on the end face of the valve member.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although the invention has been described by way of example with reference to one or more embodiments it is not limited to the disclosed embodiments and that one or more modifications to the disclosed embodiments or alternative embodiments could be constructed without departing from the scope of the invention. 

1. A vacuum pump connected to an oil supply, comprising: a pump housing; a rotary pumping element disposed within said housing rotating about a pump axis; and a valve mounted in said housing such that it rotates with the rotary pump element, wherein said valve is displaced from the centerline of said pump axis; said valve has a valve member which moves linearly from an open position to a closed position; said linear axis of said valve member forms a nonnegligible angle with said pump axis; said valve has a spring, said spring biasing said valve member toward said pump axis; and said valve member has an end face in fluid communication with the oil supply.
 2. The pump of claim 1 wherein said nonnegligible angle is approximately 90°.
 3. The pump of claim 1 wherein said valve is open when said valve member is displaced toward said valve axis and is closed when said valve member is displaced away from said valve axis.
 4. The pump of claim 1 wherein said valve member has an end face, said valve member being acted upon by oil pressure from the oil supply on said end face, spring force, and centrifugal force, when said valve is rotating.
 5. The pump of claim 4 wherein said valve member is displaced toward said valve axis when said spring force exceeds centrifugal force and the force of the oil pressure on said end face.
 6. The pump of claim 1 wherein said spring reacts between an end cap fastened to said valve and said valve member.
 7. The pump of claim 1 wherein said valve member has an end face and said valve has a tubular body portion extending away from said end face and the spring is located within the tubular body portion of said valve.
 8. The pump of claim 1 wherein said end cap has a vent passage so that the interior of said tubular body portion is maintained at atmospheric pressure.
 9. The pump of claim wherein said valve has a valve chamber connected to the oil supply by an oil supply passage and when said valve member is in a closed position, said valve chamber remains in fluid communication with the oil supply passage.
 10. The pump of claim 6, further comprising: a second end cap fastened to said valve housing to provide an end stop for said valve member thereby determining the closed position of the valve member.
 11. The pump of claim 1 wherein the rotary pumping element comprises a rotor and at least one sliding vane.
 12. The pump of claim 1 wherein said pump supplies vacuum to engine accessories, and said pump is driven by one of a chain drive from an engine, a belt drive from the engine of the motor vehicle and an electric motor.
 13. A vacuum pump connected to an oil supply, comprising: a pump housing; a rotary pumping element disposed within said housing rotating about a pump axis; and a valve disposed within said housing and rotatable with said rotary pumping element wherein an axis along which a valve member within the valve slides forms substantially a right angle with the axis of rotation of said rotary pump; said valve is displaced from the centerline of said pump axis; and said valve member has an end face in fluid communication with the oil supply and said valve has a tubular body portion extending away from said end face and a spring is located within the tubular body portion.
 14. The pump of claim 13 wherein said spring biases said valve member toward said pump axis.
 15. The pump of claim 13 wherein said valve member has an end face and said valve member is moved against the action of said spring by a combination of centrifugal force and the oil supply pressure acting upon said end face of said valve member.
 16. The pump of claim 13 wherein said centrifugal force is zero when said pump is not rotating such that said valve member is biased toward said pump axis by said spring to maintain said valve in a closed position.
 17. The pump of claim 16 wherein said valve has a valve chamber connected to the oil supply by an oil supply passage and when said valve member is in a closed position, said valve chamber remains in fluid communication with the oil supply passage. 